


Day 12: Christmas

by BluePlanetTrash



Series: Merry Langstmas (12 Days of Christmas) [12]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Character Death, Gen, Hospitals, Merry Langstmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 19:26:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13394613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BluePlanetTrash/pseuds/BluePlanetTrash
Summary: Lance has been in the hospital ever since he was a little kid, with something that was slowly killing him. Everyone knew that one night, he was going to pass away. His family knew it, his friends in the hospital knew it, everyone he held dear knew it. They just didn't know that he would pass away on Christmas morning.





	1. Chapter 1

Christmas in a hospital wasn’t as bad as it seemed. Not if you had the kind of friends that Lance did. He had been admitted years ago with a disease that was very slowly killing him. You would think that that would have a very sobering effect on him but Lance was one of the happiest and most grateful people you would ever meet. Every day he tried to live to the fullest, even if his schedule was crammed with tests and therapy. He used to live in black and white but that changed when he started meeting people as they were admitted to the hospital. First, it was Hunk, then Pidge, Keith, and finally Shiro. He also made good friends with his doctor Coran and a nurse in training Allura who started working at the hospital when she finished her schooling. It warmed his heart when she told him that she chose that hospital because he would be there for a long time. They became like brother and sister after she told him that.

They huddled in Lance’s room since he was put on bedrest a few days earlier and hooked up to several machines. Smiles lit up their faces and laughter poured out of their mouths even as they dodged around wires and tubes that connected to Lance’s body. They shared stories of Christmas Eve’s before and passed around snacks that Allura gave to them as a treat. Soon enough, she herself walked into the room and started ushering them out.

“Merry Christmas,” Lance called out to them as they filed out, joyfully waving at them as they turned back to him. As soon as the door was closed behind Allura, he flopped down on his pillow and looked blankly up at the ceiling. Even as Alura checked his vitals and took simple tests he didn’t pay attention to her. Not until she stood by the side of his bed and laid her cool hand against his forehead.

“Allura,” he said simply, waiting for her to look into his eyes.

“Yes, Lance?” she replied biting her lip. He wasn’t usually this quiet while she was here.  They would laugh and talk and she would have to hurry to make up the time on her other rounds.

“Merry Christmas,” he said softly. She smiled and leaned down to kiss his forehead.

“Merry Christmas, Lance,” she quietly left the room, shutting the door behind her and made her way around the floor.

Lance’s head tilted towards the door, a small smile on his face before he shut his eyes. He knew that it would be the last time he ever did.

Hunk and Pidge slipped into Keith’s room. The boy still snoozing in his bed. They knew not to startle the boy badly and softly shook his shoulder. His eyes blinked open as a loud groan came out of his mouth. He glared up at the two figures and rubbed at his eyes as they quietly laughed.

“Come on Keith, we promised that we would meet Lance this morning,” Pidge whined. Keith huffed but obediently sat up and slid off of his bed, shivering at the touch of the cold floor. He slipped into his slippers as they headed out the door and down the hall towards Shiro’s room. As they opened the door, they saw that he was already up and holding a magazine in his hand. He looked over at them with a smile and stood, following behind them without a word.

“Merry Christmas Lance!” They cheered opening the door. Only to pause in confusion when they saw that his bed was empty, with no equipment to be found around it.

“What?” Keith asked in confusion, eyes darting around the room trying to find even a trace of the boy. They backed out of the room, panic clear in their stances and rushed to the nurse’s station. The nurses already familiar with them asked them what was wrong.

“Do you know where Lance went? He wasn’t in his room,” Hunk cried, clutching to the hem of his shirt. Their eyes widened and they stood up.

“Come with me,” she said leading them down the hallway away from the other patient’s rooms. She led them to one of the lounges, this one was especially for patients and was rarely used by anyone. They walked in and saw Allura and Coran standing by the window, quietly conversing.

“Dr. Smythe, Allura, I brought them,” the nurse said, ushering them inside and shutting the door behind them. They looked back at the door before turning to face them.

“What’s going on?” Shiro asked coming forward slightly as if to protect the ones behind him. They looked determined at the two of them, they often had small meetings like this one. Usually when Lance declined and he would be in bad shape for a while, or they wouldn’t be able to see him. It wasn’t unusual for this to happen.

Coran stepped forward with a frown on his face. It was strange, even if there was bad news, he usually kept a happy face for them.

“You may want to sit down for this,” he said motioning for them to move to the couches. They did so and sat at rapt attention for Coran to start talking. They were itching to be told where Lance was staying for his treatment so they could get on with their Christmas morning.

It never came.

“At 3:28AM this morning, Lance passed away, he is no longer with us,” Coran choked out. His head fell forward as his shoulders started shaking slightly. They stared at the man in shock, not completely processing the situation. Allura reached over and rubbed Coran’s shoulder, even as tears started rolling down her face.

“We did everything we could to keep him here and he fought so hard but it wasn’t enough,” Allura said shaking her head, tears flinging off of her cheeks.

“He told me a few days earlier that he felt it coming,” Coran admitted looking up at them with watery eyes. At that, the memories of last night flew through their head. He had smiled and laughed with them as they played around in his room. He wished them a Merry Christmas because he knew that he wouldn’t be around to say it the next day. As memories upon memories of the boy shot through their mind, tears trekked down their faces and a sad whine made its way out of Pidge’s mouth. Like a chain reaction, the others started crying around him. Their hands reached out to each other, gripping on to each other’s pants and shirts. They huddled close together, sobs ripping out of their throats, and eyes burning with salt.

* * *

They stared blankly as the casket was lowered into the ground. They stood behind Lance’s family, peeking between their arms. Even as others turned and left while they buried the casket, they stayed behind the family, not ready to leave their friend. As the last shovel full was patted down on the grave, they backed away. They saw Coran and Allura standing beside one of the hospital vans and they headed towards it.

“Wait,” they heard behind them. Lance’s mother stopped in front of them.

“He left these for you,” she said holding out four envelopes. Slightly shocked, Shiro reached out and took them from her hand.

“Thank you,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said looking up at her.

“Thank you,” she said gratefully, swallowing back her tears. She could see the obvious puffy red eyes on each one of them.

“Thank you for taking care of my son when we weren’t there,” she warbled out, quickly covering her mouth as tears leaked out of her eyes.

“He helped us a lot more than we helped him,” Keith said quietly staring at the ground. The rest of them nodded in agreement.

“I see,” she said simply before giving them a watery smile and turning back to her family. The others doing the same and heading towards the van.

As they made their way back to the hospital, it was quiet except for a few sniffles that wriggled their way out of someone’s mouth.

They were met with silent stares and pitying glances as they made their way back up to their wing. It seemed like everyone knew about Lance and how it affected them. They walked back to the lounge and curled up on the couches, basking in the silence of the room.

“Here,” Shiro said holding the bundle of envelopes out to Keith. His was sitting on his lap in front of him. He shuffled them in his hand and passed them to Hunk and then to Pidge. They all glanced at each other before flipping them over to open them. They laughed at the sparkly lion stickers that were holding the envelopes closed.

It wasn’t long before they were holding their letters to their faces. Tears coursing down their faces and bawls coming from their mouths. It wasn’t fair. Why did it have to be him that was taken away? It was so unfair. Why did these things have to happen to him?

They curled around each other, clutching their letters in their hands. Even when nurses peeked in on them, they didn’t wake them up or try to move them. They deserved to grieve.


	2. The Letters Left Behind

**Dear Hunk,**

I know a letter isn’t going to be enough to thank you for being the greatest best friend I could ever have. You were always there to catch me if I fell, or help me up if I felt down. You were always someone that I could turn to when things got bad. You were there from day one.

I remember the day that I collapsed at school and was brought to the hospital and I didn’t see you for so long afterward. I felt so alone in that hospital, I didn’t have any friends, and my family was working so hard to keep me in there that I didn’t see them much either.

I know it’s kind of horrible to say but I was really happy when you were brought in. I felt so much happier with you around. When I was alone, I felt like I was already gone and I had nowhere to go. I was seeing the world in black and white. Then I saw you get wheeled by my room and it was like the sun was shining again. I felt hopeful again. I felt lighter, like the weight was slipping off of my shoulders again.

When I actually got up the nerve to go and talk to you, it was like nothing changed and we hadn’t spent any time apart. Every moment I spent with you, I felt so happy and loved and my world started coming back in colours. You made me want to make everyone around me happy too. I wanted to make everyone feel as great as you made me feel. I wanted to stay by your side, and I wanted to be there to see you get out of the hospital, even if I wasn’t going to be going with you. So I’m sorry for that.

I don’t want you to be sad Hunk. I want you to get out of this place and go out into the world. I want you to make a difference out there. Do something that you’ve always wanted to do. Do something that I’ve always wanted to do, for me. I know that you still have that notebook with our bucket lists in it.

After everything that you’ve ever done for me, I feel selfish for asking you for anything else but I’m going to anyway.

1\.   Get better.

2\.   Every day, try to make one person happy (even if it’s just yourself).

3\.   Find love.

4\.   Become the biggest name in the food industry.

I have the utmost faith in you buddy. I know that you’ll be able to scratch every one of these off.

I love you so much Hunk. You’re my brother, and I will always love you.

Love,

Lance

P.S. Merry Christmas

* * *

**Dear Pidge,**

A letter isn’t enough tell you everything that I want to tell you Pidge, but it’s going to have to do. Spending time with you and getting to know you was an honour.

I remember when I first met you and you didn’t even want to talk to the nurses. You yelled and cried every time someone came in, telling them to leave you alone and to get out. You threw a book at me the first time I tried to talk to you, but I could see how much you were hurting and how much you needed someone to talk to.

When you opened up to me, I felt like I could be someone to rely on. You helped me realize that I could still help people even if I couldn’t help myself. Even though my time was shorter than most, you helped me see that I could make a difference for others, even if it was by just simply talking to them.

When we would play games and you would hack them so we were unstoppable, were some of the best moments in my life. I could see how smart you were, and how your brain was wasted sitting in a hospital like this. I want you to get better fast so you can show the world what you’re made of. I know that when you get back out there, you’re going to do incredible things and people are going to be amazed by you.

Please don’t be sad Pidge. If anything, use it as motivation or something. Get better and make something more of yourself. Name a robot or something after me. I wanted to walk you do the door when you were ready but I guess it’s not going to happen huh? I’m really sorry about that.

I know that you hate doing favours but I’m going to ask you for a few anyway.

1\.   Get better

2\.   Find someone that you can rely on.

3\.   Go to school and beat everyone when they try to underestimate you.

4\.   Change the world.

I know that I’ve given you some pretty daunting things but I know that you’ll be able to do it. It won’t even be a challenge for you.

I’m proud to call you my sister Pidge. I love you so much.

Love,

Lance

P.S. Merry Christmas

* * *

**Dear Keith,**

I know we started off on the wrong foot when we first met. We spat back and forth at each other, hurting each other’s feelings and making each other feel worse about ourselves. I never liked that time of our relationship and I’m glad that we got past that before I had to go.

I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings when we first met. I think that you realized that by now too, but if you didn’t, I’m sorry. I just remembered you from when we went to school and was wondering if you were the same kid. I didn’t know that you were in a foster home and I didn’t know that it was why you were there in the first place.

I know that you are almost fully recovered by now but sometimes I looked at you and I could only see you at the beginning. Sitting on your bed, glaring at the wall. Just a kid angry at the world and I’m so glad that I pushed and pushed and pushed for you to join us because I don’t think that anger would have ever left.

Before you came, I felt like I was just going through the motions. I was happy but I wasn’t trying to put in the effort to be happy. I let other’s come to me instead of seeking them out instead. With you though, everything was a competition. Who could spend the most time with Pidge and Hunk? Who could eat the most of their food? Who could escape the nurses the longest? You helped me get my drive back. You made me put in the effort.

Don’t be sad Keith, please. You never told me what you wanted to do when you got out of the hospital. You never needed to either. I knew that you were going to raise hell when you got out and that’s all that mattered. I wanted to brag about you as I walked with you to the doors when you got out. I wanted to slap you on the back and smile before you left, but I can’t. I’m sorry I won’t be there.

I never asked you for anything while I was there, so I’m going to ask for some stuff now.

1\.   Get better.

2\.   Don’t live every day being angry (smiling is so much better).

3\.   Keep in touch with our friends.

4\.   Find your dream.

Some of these things are harder than others and you don’t have to rush through to get them done. You can do it though, I believe in you!

I hope you realize that you’re not just my friend, you’re my brother. I love you, Keith.

Love,

Lance

P.S. Merry Christmas

* * *

**Dear Shiro,**

A letter isn’t ever going to be enough to tell you how much I care about you. Or how much you’ve helped me since we first met.

I remember the very first time that I saw you. You were recovering from your car accident and wouldn’t even look at me when I came in. It hurt but I knew that you needed time to adjust and process what happened to you. I’m glad that I was stubborn enough to keep coming even when you told me to stop. I’m glad that I was there when you meet all of our friends. I’m glad that you started caring about me as much as I care about you.

It was always incredible to watch you stay strong and cope with everything that happened to you. I mean you were an eighteen-year-old who just lost their arm, and you inspired me so much. You inspired me to push through my toughest days and to fight for every second I had because that’s just what you did. I don’t want you to think that I gave up at the end because I didn’t. I know you would never think that though.

It was hard to watch you get treated like you were an invalid. Just because of your injury, or your age. I knew that you weren’t helpless and you knew you weren’t helpless but you never said anything to them. You’re the strongest person that I’ve ever met and don’t you ever forget that.

Don’t be sad because of me Shiro. You talked endlessly about becoming a pilot when you grow up and I want you to push yourself for that dream. You matter what other people say to you. No matter what you tell yourself, keep driving to be what you want to be.

I remember talking endlessly about when I’ll get to hug you before you leave the hospital. I wanted to do that for you, and I’m sorry that I won’t be able to.

When we first met up, you gave me a list of things that you wanted from me. Now it’s time for you to do some things for me.

1\.   Get better.

2\.   Don’t let anybody define you because of your disability.

3\.   Remember that you are never alone.

4\.   Say hi to me when you pilot for the first time (when you’re above the clouds).

You can do this Shiro. I know that you can. Even if it seems hard at some times, remember me and push through.

You’re my brother Shiro. Don’t ever forget how much I love you.

Love,

Lance

P.S. Merry Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Come visit me at my Tumblr too!: https://blueplanettrash.tumblr.com/


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